In addition to eating, sleeping, climbing trees for naps and to view the wider area of the zoo, what do Su Lin and Mei Sheng do during their daytime hours? Do they ever interact with, or “play” with, enrichment items? Most of the enrichment I have ever observed with them on cameras is climbing various structures or trees, and on their birthdays and other “special” days exploring new enrichment items that appear to have been placed in their exhibit spaces. However, I have not observed them “running” around, or rolling or somersaulting as I have observed Tai Shan and Mei Lan doing. Is it because of the nature of their exhibit areas, or their personalities? I have read some of the comments from keepers and staff about Mei Sheng interacting with humans and his love of attention and “scratching,” but not much has been written about Su Lin. Does she basically just eat, sleep, and sometimes explore the ponds, similar to Gao Gao? In the wild, one would think that pandas would encounter some opportunities to “explore” as they search for new bamboo areas in which to eat, and for places in which to rest. Do they tend to rest in the open around their bamboo source, or do they go to rock caves, or hollow tree trunks as you have in your exhibits? Much has been written about young cubs climbing to sleep safely while their mother is out foraging. This would explain Mei Sheng and Su Lin’s great proprensity to spend many hours in trees.

Mei Lan doesn’t have a very high place to climb, but she spends most of her time up as high as she can get as well. Does it appear that a cub’s natural instinct is to start climbing as soon as they are able? If I recall correctly, it was several weeks to a couple of months between when Bai Yun brought the cubs out into the exhibit and when they started to climb. Where does a mother panda tend to “hide” her cub once they leave the den if they are still wobbly on their legs and can not yet climb?

I should clarify for you that we don’t see Bai Yun use all four teats often in the early stages of the cub’s life. Two possibilities remain: she is using them, but we just don’t see it (recall the cub is well hidden early on); AND, other pandas may use them all. Bai Yun is just one mother panda among many.

Good luck in Wolong. Say hi to Hua Mei for us!